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The son of a passenger hurt when a tour bus en route to a casino overturned on the 210 Freeway says his mother and others were nervous before the crash. Hetty Chang has exclusive details on the NBC4 News at 11 p.m. on Aug. 22, 2013. (Published Thursday, Aug 22, 2013)

Updated at 8:37 AM PST on Monday, Dec 23, 2013

At least 50 people were injured Thursday when a casino-bound tour bus rolled over on the Foothill (210) Freeway near the San Gabriel (605) Freeway about 20 miles east of Los Angeles in Irwindale, Calif., the CHP said.

Watch: Overturned Bus Lifted Away for Evidence

After closing down the freeway for hours, an overturned tour bus carrying senior passengers en route to a casino was flipped upright and hauled away to be investigated. Kathy Vara reports from Highland for the NBC4 News at 6 p.m. on Aug. 22, 2013. (Published Thursday, Aug 22, 2013)

The crash was reported just after 10 a.m. on the eastbound 210, the CHP said.

Aerial footage showed a large emergency response off the side of the freeway with firefighters tending to people on green, yellow and red triage tarps. The color-coded tarps indicate severity of injuries, with red being the most severe.

86-Year-Old Breaks Ribs in Tour Bus Crash

Rescue helicopters landed on the 210 Freeway to airlift tour bus passengers requiring immediate medical assistance after the bus crashed and overturned. Two riders have been moved to a critical care unit. Hetty Chang reports from Lincoln Heights for NBC4 News at 5 p.m. on Aug. 22, 2013. (Published Thursday, Aug 22, 2013)

Of the 55 injured, 52 were bus passengers. The other three people injured were from other vehicles that were involved in the collision.

A majority of the injuries were minor. Some were moderate and a few suffered major injuries. All were adults, ages 60 to 80.

Tour Bus Roll-over Strands Drivers for Hours

A traffic mess created by a tour bus crash in Irwindale on Thursday led some stranded drivers to get out of their cars and walk along the 210 Freeway. Many drivers were forced to shut off their vehicles and roll down their windows to try to escape the heat while others posted on social media warning others not to take the slow-moving highway. Adrian Arambulo reports from Irwindale for NBC4 News at 5 p.m. on Aug. 22, 2013. (Published Thursday, Aug 22, 2013)

By Thursday night, five victims remained in the hospital, including an 86-year-old man suffering from broken ribs.

The son of one of the injured passengers told NBC4 his mother was nervous about the driver's speed before the crash.

"She told me that she was talking to the person next to her, the bus was driving a little fast and right after that, the accident happened," Steven Zhang said.

"She was in shock. She almost cannot remember anything because it happened all of a sudden."

The crash shut down a major Southern California freeway. It prompted some motorists to get out of their cars to get a look as some victims were carried away in stretchers and a heavy tow vehicle was sent in to pull the bus from a ditch.

The bus, belonging to Da Zhen out of Monterey Park, was due to arrive at the San Manuel Indian Bingo & Casino at 10:30 a.m. on a day trip, a casino spokesman said. Da Zhen is a Chinese tour bus company that frequently offers day trips to casinos in California and Las Vegas.

None of its nine buses have been involved in crashes in the last two years, according to the U.S. Transportation Department's Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.